On the evening of August 6, 2016, a Black man named Steven Keaton, Sr., 42, was fatally shot in Hartford, Connecticut. The incident occurred around 10 p.m. near 1994 Main Street, where Hartford police officers on patrol heard multiple gunshots. Upon investigating, they discovered Keaton in the rear common hallway of a multi-family residence with several gunshot wounds. He was transported to St.
Francis Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Known to his friends and family as "Big Pers," Keaton was a resident of New Britain and had moved there about a year before his death, having lived in Hartford for most of his life. His death was the city's 11th homicide of 2016. An investigation was immediately launched by the Hartford Police Department's Major Crimes Division.
Witnesses at the scene reported seeing two individuals fleeing the area. One was described as wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, and the other a red hooded sweatshirt. Despite this information, the identities of the suspects have remained unknown, and no arrests have been made in the years following the shooting. The case eventually went cold and has been included in Connecticut's cold case playing cards in an effort to generate new leads from the public. To date, the murder of Steven Keaton remains unsolved, and his family continues to await justice.
